How to Create Your Own Greeting Cards...

Searching for that perfect greeting card...

Whenever a friend or a relative has a birthday there is always a need for a greeting card. When I make that trip to the store to buy someone a card it is very rare that I will find that perfect card as soon as I walk through the door. I can spend a half an hour in the store, if not more, and find nothing that I want to buy... And that is just ridiculous.

Being a poet and a published one at that, it is not the artistic design of the card that is important to me but the words inside. And usually the words that I find are either too cheesy or pathetic or of low quality. And the prices are through the roof.

I don't want to spend five bucks for a crappy card that has no value in what it says inside and one that doesn't speak to me in any way. And it frustrates me a great deal, not to mention that it leaves me disappointed, especially when there is not enough time to search for a card.

So, I came up with a solution. I decided to write my own greetings. I buy blank cards, which usually cost only a few dollars, and write my own greetings on them. Sometimes I make my own greeting cards from scratch, which is a great deal of fun.

How to find that perfect greeting card...

If you are lucky you will find that perfect greeting card after browsing through the extensive collection of cards in the store. It will say exactly what you want it to say, it will look nice too, and it won't cost too much money. But often enough that is not the case, at least from my experience.

The solution is to write your own greetings. Just go to a store, search for a blank greeting card that strikes your fancy - that is a card that has no words written inside it - and write your own greeting in there. It's best if the greeting is written in poetic or verse form, but if you can't write in poetic form don't worry. Prose can work as well. It's not the form of writing that is important but the words themselves. Just write from the heart...and you will have that perfect card in no time. Blank greeting cards usually cost much less than cards with greetings on them, so you also will save money by doing this. And you won't have to worry about finding the time to create a card yourself, not to mention worrying about how it will look in the end.

If you are a creative and an artistic person you can make your own greeting card, instead of buying a blank one at the store. Not only will you have a lot of fun making that card but it will be that much more personal as well.

How to make a greeting card...

To make a greeting card you will need some paper and colored markers, pencils, or pens. When you buy the paper make sure that it's thick paper. Regular white printing paper can work as well but it will make it harder for the card to stand without falling down if someone decides to display it on the TV or the night stand, etc.

Instead of using white paper for your greeting card you can use colored paper, but if you choose to do so make sure that the writing will be visible on it. You may need to do a quick test and try writing on colored paper to see if you can read the text without any problems.

When you find the right paper, take one sheet, fold it in half and now you are ready to make your greeting card. You can leave the card in rectangular shape or you can create a different shape of the card by cutting it with scissors. When you have a shape or design in mind you may want to lightly trace with the pencil the contours of the shape of the card on the card itself before doing the cutting to insure that you won't cut it the wrong way and ruin the card.

Once you are done with the shape of the card it is time to decorate it with some art work. If you feel that you can't draw or are worried about ruining the card because you are not that good of an artist you can still decorate the greeting card. Here are a few options you can try:

Browse through newspapers, books or magazines, find nice images and trace them onto the card. You can also cut them out and glue them directly onto the card if you prefer - like a collage.

Find some nice stickers and place them throughout the card.

Take a photograph with your camera, print it out and glue it onto the card.

Find some materials and glue them onto the card - some lace, ribbons, etc.

Once you are done with the decorating it is time to write that greeting. Remember the form you write in doesn't matter, it's the words that do. So, just write from the heart. You can try writing poetry first and if that doesn't work, or if you don't like what you have written then write in prose. Whatever works best for you is what you should do.

When you start writing the greeting, first write it on a separate piece of paper and work on it until it is just right. Only then should you transfer the greeting onto your greeting card. If you start writing the greeting directly onto the card and end up making mistakes or find that you don't like what you have written then your card will be ruined and you will have to make another greeting card from scratch.

If you make your own greeting card you will have to make your own envelope. It is not that difficult to do. Just look at your mailing envelopes or those you get in the mail and see how they are made. You can even take them apart (where they are glued) and unfold them to see how to do it. You can go to the store and look at envelopes that go with greeting cards as well. Envelopes are easy to make and all you need is a pair of scissors and some glue.

Practice makes perfect. If your first card doesn't come out as well as you had hoped, try making another card. The more cards you make the better you will become. Before you know it you may become an expert when it comes to greeting cards. Remember to be creative and to not give up if you hit a road block along the way. And also have fun. If you are not having any fun then it will be visible in your work. And then if you are really up to it you can start your very own greeting card line... It just might become a best-seller.

Photos - Making a Greeting Card

Now that you have read how to make a greeting card and an envelope for it here are the photos of the process... Hope you will find this useful when making a greeting card and an envelope to go along with it...

Making a Greeting Card - Step 1: Fold a piece of paper in half

making a greeting card

Making a Greeting Card - Step 2: Trace the shape of card you want to have with a pencil

making a greeting card

Making a Greeting Card - Step 3: Cut the paper along the lines you traced with the pencil

making a greeting card

Making a Greeting Card - Step 4: Decorate the front of the card and write any text you want

making a greeting card

Making a Greeting Card - Step 5: Decorate the inside of the card and write the text you want inside

making a greeting card

Photos - Making an Envelope

Here are the photos that show you how to make an envelope for your greeting card. There are many ways to make an envelope. This is one of the simplest ways to do it.

Making an Envelope - Step 1: Fold a piece of paper in half and cut as shown in the picture below

making an envelope

Making an Envelope - Step 2: Fold the three sides of the paper that stick out

making an envelope

Making an Envelope - Step 3: Place glue on left & right sides of folded paper and press down onto the paper until firmly in place

making an envelope

Tips

Before you start making your greeting card take two pieces of paper - one for the envelope and the other for the greeting card - and fold in half. When you start cutting out the shape of the greeting card make sure that it can fit into the envelope. If it does not you will have to cut it again. So, before decorating the card and writing text on it be sure to get the right size. You may want to make the envelope first and go from there. This will help ensure that the greeting card you make will fit inside the envelope.

Comments

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sending

Mary Norton

3 years agofrom Ontario, Canada

Love the envelope how to. It is easy to follow.

AUTHOR

Lena Kovadlo

5 years agofrom Staten Island, NY

Thanks for your comments. Glad the hub is easy to follow.

stillwaters707

6 years agofrom Texas

This is a great hub. I recommend checking out BlossomSB, who also writes hubs on this topic. Your directions are clear and specific; good for new card makers. From BlossomSB, I learned about scrapnook.com, a website that helps you design the cards. I love this tipe of activity, too. Great hub.

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